Equilibrium
by GhostWriterForever
Summary: [STORY ON HOLD] [EPISODE 9 SPOILERS] What happens after the Skywalker Saga? I couldn't just leave Ben to fade away, so this story happened. Ben sacrificed himself to bring Rey back to life, he knew she would be the one to bring true balance to the force. But, what if there was someone who could save him at the end. Ben(Kylo)/OFC (Slow-Build Romance)
1. Chapter 1 - Balance

He looked into her eyes as his face lifted to a sorrow filled smile. He knew they had won. The war to end all wars was over and the person he knew could hold the balance was alive once again.

But alas, he had sacrificed everything inside him to do what was right. To bring peace and balance to the universe, he had to do it. Vision blurring and fading away, the last thing he witnessed down the tunnel of black was the fading smile and worry etched face of Rey.

And then... nothing and everything all at once.

* * *

Rey looked over the lifeless form of Ben as she held his body. A single tear rolled down her cheek. He had given up his life for her own and their chaste kiss heavy with the promise of protecting a new balance to the force.

"He isn't dead you know" Spoke a crackled voice from behind a modulated mask.

Rey spun around swiftly and with a quick flick of her wrist, blue light illuminated her face. The blade crackled in front of her crouched form as she placed herself between the unknown voice from the dark and Ben's body.

Heavy rubber soles crunching rubble echoed through the cavern as the owner of the voice made their way slowly toward the pair.

From the darkness emerged a cloked figure in black robes, their mask made in a similar fashion to the one that was worn by Kylo Ren. However, although the figure appeared ominously menacing it approached with hands spread and visible. No weapons could be seen. Once drenched in the light from above the figure stopped its approach.

Rey squinted her eyes and readied herself to attack.

"Please refrain Jedi. We don't have much time" The Knight of Ren spoke again as they lifted their hands toward their helmet. A hiss could be heard from the helmet as it was loosened and lifted from the Hnight's head.

Rey hadn't anticipated what was revealed. Long silver hair cascaded down the shoulders of the Knight and bright silver eyes filled with the wisdom of a time long passed looked into her own. Yet, their face was youthful. Not much older than herself.

"Who... Who are you?" Rey asked curiously as she rose from the crouched position, lightsaber still poised in defence.

The Knight cautiously aproached with their hand lowered and outstretched. They spoke once more. "Like I said before, we dont have time." This was said just as some rubble from the defeated star destroyers crashed through the sith temple nearby the trio. "But, I can show you."

Rey lowered her saber as the Knight approached closer. Her eyes shifted down to the Knight's outstretched hand, it was close enough now to reach out and close the gap. She looked back up at the silver orbs. They weren't threatening. There was no mallice. Even the force was telling her to grasp the hand. Rey felt compelled.

The saber lowered to her side as her own fingertips stretched to meet the Knight's hand. As their forefingers touched, Rey's vision flashed white and her breath hitched. She felt as if she were being thrown through open space. Weightless for a moment and then instantly felt the ground beneath her feet as gravity made itself apparent again.

Her vision returned again, but something felt off. She was looking up at a white haired man dressed in fine silver clothing. The room they were in had tall ceilings and white stone columns holding aloft vast expanses of green and silver velvet drapery. Rey tried to look away from the man, but was unable to control her body. She felt the cool chill of tears cascading down her cheeks.

The man approached closer and kneeled down to her same level. He wiped the tear off of her cheek.

"Countess, I know you don't want to leave but you must go." He held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes with his own deep brown ones. "The Serenno family has been waiting two generations for one of our own to show the same skills as Dooku and now you have come along." He smiled but his eyes still showed a ghost of sadness. "We kept you hidden from the Empire when you were a baby and now that they are gone and Luke Skywalker has his academy, there is hope again. Your cousin will be Duke in your stead and when you return from your training, you will be our Countess once again"

Rey was confused. She wanted to know where she was and why she was in a body she could not control. She wanted to know who this was in front of her and why she was being called 'Countess'. But, before these thoughts could be answered her vision flashed white again and she felt gravity escape her body.

Gravity reasserted itself around her. She was looking out of a porthole window down at a green planet. Tears again tickled her cheeks.

"Exiting the Serenno system. Enroute to Yavin IV." A droids voice could be heard from behind Rey but she was unable to turn around to look at it. The body she was in was transfixed on the planet beyond the glass window. "Entering hyperspace." The droid recited and instantly the planet below morphed into sharp white lines.

Reys vision flashed again and she was lurched into a chair, looking up at a stage. The auditorium was filled with chattering young voices all around her. The body she was in looked around at the open roof, the sky was a bright teal tone with a massive red moon... or perhaps it was a planet circling above. Huge trees were growing up over the edge of the stone amphitheatre, draping vines and leaves overhead. Plants were growing amongst the stonework as if both nature and the academy were in balance with one another.

She could sense a familiar aura beside her and heard the ruffling of fabric as someone occupied the seat to her side. "Hi, my name is Ben Solo. Who are you?" The body Rey was possessing turned toward the young boy beside her. He could not have been more than 10 years old but was obviously the oldest amongst the crowd of younger children chattering about them. The child looked like the splitting image of the Ben Rey knew, only much younger and void of all scars.

"My name is Counte... um.. Anya Serenno" she hadn't aknowledged that her mouth moved but it was if the words were speaking themselves. Rey finaly figured that these must be the direct memories of the Knight of Ren she had encountered.

"Don't be nervous Anya, my uncle Luke is the Jedi Master here. He is really nice and seeing as you are the only other person my age, we will probably be training partners." Ben smiled and pointed toward a blonde man in robes talking to a couple both with brown hair.

Rey recognised them. Luke, Leia and Han all twenty years younger than she had first seen them.

She looked back toward Ben and spoke up with a smile. "Lets be friends first. Then I'll ruin it when I kick your ass with a lightsaber!" Rey watched his face light up and heard him giggle.

"As you wish, Countess!"

The two laughed together before Reys vision flashed white again and she was teleported to a new memory.

This time, Rey was not thrust into a new position, her surroudings however morphed into a sort of lecture room. The circular room within this stone temple had a large central area clear of clutter and she was sat on the stone bench surrounding the edge of the room like a horseshoe. In the central area was the Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, he was in conversation with one of the academy students. The sounds of other students talking sourrounded her, however these students were all much older than those she had seen in the prior memory. The students within this room would be in their mid teens.

The body she possessed was fidgeting nervously and kept looking at the empty space beside her, to the doorway and back again. Rey could feel the worry within Anya. Her mind reached out into the universe... 'Where are you?' She didn't recieve a direct responce only quick panic and adrenaline.

The class was about to start as Luke walked toward the centre of the room and then utter relief filled her. In the doorway stood a teenage boy with jet black hair drenched in sweat with a robe haphazardly thrown onto his body. Luke looked over toward the young man with eyebrow raised.

"Late again Ben?" He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "One would think your aptitude for the force would let you know when people are waiting on you!"

"Sorry for my tardiness Master Luke" he dropped his head and shuffled toward the vacant space beside Anya. As he aproached he gave her a lopsided smile and mouthed thankyou.

"Students. Today is a theory lesson about this!" Luke ignited his lightsaber, the bright green light reflected off of the light stonework and filled the entire room with its glow. "The lightsaber. A Jedi's weapon. One of the crutial pieces is the hilt. We make these to fit our own combat style and to fit our own hand. But, one of the other crucial pieces is a focusing crystal. The most powerful and sought-after gems are rare kyber crystals. However, though lightsabers are powerful weapons, their design is so flexible that practically any kind of crystal can be used. But for a Jedi, the lightsaber becomes more: it is a manifestation of a Jedi's connection to the Force."

The light from the saber retracted as Luke unhitched the panel on the side. He then withdrew the small green crystal from within the hilt.

"We can create synthetic crystals or use found crystals in a variety of colours. But, in the old generations of Jedi and Sith each colour has their own meaning. A blue crystal was meant to represent a Jedi knight who hones his skill in combat. Green was for Jedi who base their existence around the light side of the force. White blades are for those who do not fight for good or evil. Yellow is the colour for those that live in the balance of the force. Purple was the colour to represent a person who is controlled by their emotions but fights for what they believe is the greater good. Lastly, Red was the colour of Sith: someone who is controlled by pure rage, mallice and a yern for power."

Luke looked around room slowly, making eye contact with each and every student.

"The challange you will all face in the coming months will push you all to your mental limits. You will need to know yourselfs from the inside out to discover your true placement in the balance of the force. You will each journey into the crystal mine, here on Yavin IV, to find the stone or crystal that calls to you."

Rey never knew any of this. She was aware that Kylo's saber was corrupt but she had never been told by Luke that each crystal colour had a meaning. That the crystal that calls to the force user shows their true heart. As these thoughts flowed through her head she was once again thrown into the zero gravity of space.

She caught her balance as she swayed atop a stone pillar with staff in hand. Now this situation was familiar to Rey. She quickly took in her surroundings, directly in front of her was a series of stacked stones balanced atop eachother high above the torrenting river below. The stone pillars lead across the canyon to a cave enterance etched into the side of the opposite cliff. Standing on the ledge at the entrance to the cave was Ben Solo, he was looking toward her with concern in his eyes.

"Come on Anya, you can do it!" He yelled across the gorge.

She looked down and swayed slightly then re-gained her balance. She closed her eyes and centred her mind. She could feel the raging water below her, smell the flowering trees behind her, picture the carefully balanced stones between the sharp cliff edges. She could also feel the presence of Ben in front of her, he was worried for her, he was ready to act if she would fall even if it meant that they both failed in their challange. It was enough to push her to succeed. She could not let her own failure affect his progress.

Her eyes snapped open and with a swift leap into the air she hopped atop the pillars one by one to the other side. She envied Ben's skills using the force jump but she knew she would learn the skill with practice.

The final pillar was further from the edge than she had anticipated. She hadn't jumped far enough. She looked down to her leading foot, it wasn't going to reach the ledge where Ben stood. Instinct kicked in, she didnt want to die. Her arms reached out toward Ben and withough much thought she force pulled herself toward him. He lurched forward against his will and shock lit up his face. Steadying his stance he met her outstretched staff and grasped it firmly. Her feet landed on the edge of the cliff and she ran up the face to meet him on the final ledge.

Unexpectedly she wraped her arms around him and held onto him like her life depended on it. This was the first time they had embraced and he secretly hoped it wouldn't be the last.

The memory lurched foward. The pair were standing inside a dark cavern, lit all around by glittering crystals and stones. The cave was wonderfully colourful and shifting in tone, but none of the stones were particularly 'calling out' to either of them.

"What do you think we do now?" Spoke Anya.

Memory lurched forward again. Standing in front of her was Ben, he was looking down at what lay in his hands. It was a yellow crystal. Not only was it a yellow crystal, but it was the crystal that had chosen him. The pair had discovered the crystals were enchanted in some way by the force. One could not simply walk into the cave and pull any old crystal from the wall. Anya then looked down at her own hand, a blue crystal lay in her palm. Ben looked back up at her from what lay in his hand with the look he had given her once before. Anya was the only soul Ben had ever confided in, he had told her that he felt a pull to the dark side but always pushed it away. It was taunting him and she could tell he had not yet decided what direction his life would go. Ben was still a teenager, he was at the crutial turning point for any person his age. He was not ready to confront his inner self. She knew, deep down, that if Lukes 'favorite' student, Ben, were to return with a yellow crystal, he will have failed as a Jedi Master.

She knew what she had to do. She had to give Ben a little nudge toward the light. Lifting her hand up to his own, she dropped the blue kyber into his palms and took the yellow one in return.

Ben looked up from the blue crystal. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

The next series of memories flashed by Rey's eyes quickly.

Ben learning to use a lightsaber. Luke refusing to teach her the same. Anya training in the dark with her yellow saber, the hilt made of scraps, she throws it to the ground. Instead she opts to train her force powers and especially that of healing to which Master Luke gives his blessing. The two Jedi grow up into their late teens. Ben taking to a group of other young adults at the academy. Luke starts to watch Ben closely, she can sense an imbalance between them.

Rey landed into a solid memory again.

"Get up, NOW!" Ben was urgently shoving her awake from her bed. Anya groaned and blinked as her eyes focused onto his form. He was covered in scratches and dirt. She knew something was seriously wrong. "You have to come with me now!" He said as he pulled her up from her prone position.

She could smell smoke and hear the crackling of flames in the distance. Then it hit her. There was loss in the force, so many dead, so many killed. Her eyes filled with water, but she couldn't mourn now as Ben dragged her out of the temple toward a ship she did not recognise.

The exchange had happened so fast she tried to recollect it, but before she knew it, she was half-way out of the system on an unknown ship with the only survivors from the Academy. There were six others. All covered in scratches... and blood.

Everything went white one final time and Rey could feel herself returning to her own body, she was able to control her own limbs again, she was able to control where her eyes moved. They locked with the silver eyes of Anya in front of her.

"We don't have much time to escape before those star destroyers crush us all" Anya spoke matter of factly as she reached to her belt and pulled from it a saber. However, she didnt ignite it. "Rey, take this! I never learned how to use a lightsaber and the crystal within it belongs to the force energy that resides within you now. You have the power within you to bring the force back to true equilibrium." She placed the old scrapmade lightsaber into Reys hand. "You will see Ben Solo again, but I have to heal him before he dies first. Now go! Before your only way off this hellhole is destroyed!"

Rey slipped the lightsaber onto her hilt with the other two and ran back toward the exit, leaving behind her the fallen ally and the mystery knight.

\- Author Note -

Please leave a review if you like how this story has started. I watched the latest Starwars movie (Episode 9) and absolutly loved how the director was able to salvage the mess that was Episode 8. Although I think it ended the Skywalker saga wonderfully, I couldn't let Ben just fade away. I have some wonderful ideas for this story and can't wait to explore them - having the freedom of an ended saga, we will be able to see what happens after the end of it all. Expect a vast adventure and a slow build ace/pan - romance.

I do like to explore some darker/gritty environments within world building, so if you dont want to read about bloodthirsty sithlords, bountyhunters covered in blood and deathstick retailers, you may want to find another writer.

For mature audiences, no smut.


	2. Chapter 2 - Stabilization

Her eyes burned as the salty waters penetrated the fine layer of protection over her eyes. Damned that old cracked rubber seal that hadn't been used in years. The goggles were a afterthought, found amongst the wreckage of that huge moon sized pile of garbage. Just some old maintenance mechanics goggles. She thought they would have helped, but alas, her eyes were now enjoying a salty bath as she dove further below the water.

She twisted her body around thick iron beams and weaving down further into the maze of submerged wreckage. Her breath was held tight but the pressure on her chest was steadily becoming stronger as she decended into the darkness. In an instant the rusted and barnacle covered iron was lit up around her. Vision was restored as the searing bubbles rose from the yellow saber in her hand.

So deep now, she was surrounded by blackness and the occasional kelp ladder started to come into the yellow light. Almost at the bottom now. She felt out into the dark abyss, her breath was hitched in her chest. It was like a mental block. The imense pressure held in her chest, it needed to be released. She pushed out her remaining air and let it bubble up and away from her, back upward to the subtle blue light from above. She knew this would be bad if she couldnt find it quickly. Lungs now collapsed but without the pain they held previously, she cleared her mind and reached out again.

_There!_

Her head twisted to the right. She felt its presence just beyond the cracked steel hull section lit up by the scorching saber in her hand. Her arm reached toward it and she closed her salt-burned red eyes. Her mind cleared, for the sakes of it, she needed to concentrate or the air that had risen to the surface would have been her last breath.

_Feel it. Bring it toward me. I want it. NOW!_

Cool, salt-caked metal thrust into her hand. She opened her eyes to look at the black and silver hilt in her hand, the red cracked crystal within seemed to glow at her presence. Its brighness dimmed and glowed in unison with her slowed heartrate. She had found it. The saber of Kylo Ren. The same saber made from the kyber crystal she had sacrificed to Ben Solo when they were young. The same crystal that had cracked when her heart was broken by his change. The same crystal that bled red when Ben turned into the demon he had become. Her fingers clasped tightly around the hilt.

Her crouched feet touched the sandy base of this deep ocean, but she was not ready to let it end down here. She had something to live for now. Ben had returned and Kylo Ren needed to be extinguished forever.

Her legs extended swiftly, giving her a strong boost of propulsion upward. She didnt have the buoyancy of the air in her lungs anymore. She needed something more. The power to rise to the surface rippled through her legs in that leap. Anya grasped the submerged rubble of the Death Star on her way to the surface, using it to push her accent to the blue light above. Her lungs were on fire, the opposite pressure now causing her lungs to want to expand. As she rose quickly to the waters surface the pain was almost unbearable, she wanted to breath inward to releave the pain. But that was not an option!

There was only a few more feet to go, but her propulsion was running out. Was this it? Was this going to be her last moment alive. She looked back up at the waters surface, it was just within reach. The hand holding Ren's blade shot up above the surface but her propulsion had ceased. There were no more shafts of metal to push off of. Her strength was weakened. Her legs and arms refused to move. The oxygen in her bloodstream was almost depleaded. Then the worst started to happen. The waters surface started to move away. Anya was sinking.

Her vision blurred and her peripheral field shrunk in toward the hand holding Kylo Ren's saber just above the surface. She felt her arm sinking back into the water. Her vision faded to black. Hope was lost.

But then she breathed in harshly and heaved out a lungfull of water onto the rusted steel beside her. She leaned over to her side to catch her breath.

"I am going to need an oil bath after that debacle. That is the last time I will be jumping into a salt ocean to save your fucking skin!" It was the semi-robotic, semi-pissed-off-Aussie voice of CY-4.

Anya turned her head to look at the IG-100 droid unit. It had been in her family for three generations and had been programmed to protect her bloodline by its first master, her great grandfather, though she had made quite a few modifications to him. The first was to remove that stupid language inhibitor and to utterly obliterate the free-will constraint module. She had also had him repainted multiple times, currently his panels were tinted black to blend in with the First Order droid protocols. CY-4 was his designation, but Anya just called him Cipher.

"You wouldnt know what to do without me, Cipher. It goes against your prime directive." She spoke with a crackly voice and coughed out a laugh as she finished.

"You'd better oil my joints tonight!" It said as it crouched beside Anya. The droid looked at her with its stationary face, but she could see the little flicker of light in his eyes when his circuts were hiding a laugh. Cipher pulled a tube of metal from its hip and presented it to Anya. "This is what you were after then?"

She picked up the saber hilt from the droids three fingered hand. "Yeah, but its something inside that I need to see" Her hands felt over the salt incrusted metal. The hilt hadn't been under the water for much more than a few hours but the salts had already started to eat away at the metal housing. A similar, but less intense, granulation was evident on Cipher's shoulderguards. She would have to buff them out for him later. Her hand found the sliding panel at the top of the hilt and with a small amount of pressure she pushed it downward to reveal the aformentioned cracked red crystal.

The crystal was pulsating within the hilt. It jostled around inside the housing as if it wanted to escape. It was unstable and wild, just like the person who destroyed it. Small fingers reached inside the housing and pulled it from its prison. She held the raptured crystal in her hand. The red light had faded since she saw it last, when Kylo Ren had taken the seat of 'Supreme Asshole' and sent his Knights of Ren to all edges of the galaxy to locate the 'runaway' Jedi girl. At least he was only a supreme asshole and not a 'fear-for-your-damned-life-or-he-will-behead-you' like Snoke was.

She looked at the crystal a little more closely. She knew this could be done. She had read about it in some very secret files that she had to pay out the arse to even get her hands on. But she knew it could be done. It had been done before.

She breathed in deeply and concentated on what was pure within him. She could feel his presence. She hadn't expected to feel him so close. He was here on this planet and needed help. He was on the verge of panic.

_She is gone! I need to save her from him! Why would she take my ship! He is going to kill her. She needs me!_

His thoughs were racing so fast, it was hard to keep up. Sometimes when he was in these panicked states he was easy to read, which was convenient at the time, but his heightened state completely distracted her from what she needed to do. She placed the almost pink faded crystal into one of the many pockets within her long tailed black jacket.

"Cipher, we have to go" She started walking toward the ship that was precariously parked atop an outcrop of Death Star rubble, just above the crashing waves.

The droid and his master swiftly climbed up to the ship. Anya slipped into the pilots seat and readied the low proximity thrusters. She reached out to him again and then quickly lifted the ship from its perch before zooming off toward the cliffside.

He was pacing back and forth. Pacing where his ship was parked before Rey stole it... to save him from Palpatine. But, she didnt know his plans to turn her. She didnt know his plans to use her as his next pawn. He continued to pace back and forth, mind racing as he watched his feet move infront of him. His mind was so wrapped up in panic that he hadn't noticed the slight buzzing next to him. Now that he thought about it, that buzzing was very loud. His head looked up toward the offending sound.

"Are you done fretting?" Anya asked from the open side door of her hovering ship. Ben tilted his head at the Knight of Ren, if she was even to be concidered a Knight anymore after her betrayal. But that now meant she was an ally once again. "You want to save your 'girlfriend' right? Are you going to get in or not?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

Ben lay almost lifless on the dust covered ground as Rey bolted toward the exit of of the Sith temple and back to Luke's X-wing. Anya dropped to her knees beside his body. She needed to do something to stabaslise him. What could she do to stop him from dieing. He had put all of his lifeforce into bringing Rey back and there wasn't much she could think of.

Her chest burned. It ached to save him, but she couldn't sacrifice herself like he did. She desprately wanted them to both walk out of this hell hole. Her chest ached again. She needed to think quickly.

A huge earthquake rattled through the ground and shook the dust around them. One of the Star Destroyers had finally fallen from the sky, they didn't have much time before they were both crushed to death. Her chest burned again.

She looked down at her chest. Something was glowing brightly. Something was glowing bright white. Something within her pocket.

She unzipped the offending pocket scorching her fingers on the hot metal in the process. She withdrew the hot white stone from within, but instead of burning her fingers, it was cool to the touch.

Kylo Ren's cracked kyber crystal had changed from the pale red it was, not more than a few hours ago, to this bright white.

The crystal was shivering in her hand, jostling about as if it was pulling itself through her hand magnetically to something behind.

_Ben!_

She held the crystal between her forefinger and thumb and let it guide itself toward Ben's chest. As it made contact the crystal glowed even more brightly before, it's light drew into his chest and the stone was left colourless. It rolled off of his body and shattered along the crack into thousands of tiny clear peices of dust.

He breathed deeply... but did not awake. Anya tapped the side of his face. "Ben! Wake up!" She tapped his face again and then shook his shoulders. "Oh fuck, its not going to be that easy is it?"

The ground rumbled again. Then it rumbled some more as the fuel cylinders of another Star Destroyer raptured not too far away. Dust particles started to rain down from above. Then some larger stones. Anya looked up. The hole in the ceiling was starting to get bigger as larger chunks of the edges floated through the air down toward the pair of force users.

"Oh shit!" Anya scooped up Ben's heavy body from the ground. He was warm which was at least a good sign. But she couldn't focus on that now, the fucking ceiling was collapsing around them.

Another rumble and another two explosions. She needed to get out of here fast. But fast was her specialty. While Ben was swinging his sword around, Anya had been honing her force abilities. Her legs bounded forward, even with the heavy weight of his body in her arms and over one shoulder she still managed to sprint at a speed faster than the normal human.

The way back to her ship was less straight forward now than when she had come in since Rey had destroyed half the temple. She jumped up and over the pile of stones and bodies of Sith worshippers. Fuck their bodies were in the thousands. Some were still alive and writhing in pain, but they didnt deserve any pity. Being enslaved by the dark side is one thing but worshipping it is a whole new level of debauchery. She kicked one of their heads in as she stepped over the pile of bodies. Save him from writhing in pain for too much longer, or perhaps she just didn't like his stupid Sith groveling face.

The doorway was so close, yet she could feel the stones hitting her body and those below her feet slipping away. Faster, she needed to go faster. She held Ben's body tightly to her own and pushed her legs to stride before they both die.

Cool night air hit her face as she reached the exit, but she was not yet free of this place. Lightning struck around her from the oblesk above. She needed to dodge the bolts of pure anger and hatred around her. Legs on fire she pushed through the muscle strain and made her way around the crackling deathtrap toward her pitch black ship.

Beyond the edge of the electricity minefeild were ships of all kinds falling from the sky in flaming heaps. The lazers, bolt cannons, missles and bomb drops from all walks of life raged on above them as she sprinted with her first 'true' friend wraped in her arms to safety.

She leaped into the open cargobay door and twisted her body around in mid air so that Ben was not crushed when they landed onto the solid cargobay floor.

"Cipher Go!" She yelled at the droid as she lifted Ben's body into a seated position between two crates of ammunition. "And turn on the cloak for peats sake! Those rebels will blow us up if they see the First Order regalia on the wing." That was the first thing that needed to go, along with the same emblem on CY-4's shoulder.

As the ship cloaked itself and started to autopilot between the fighter ships, blasts and torpedoes, Cipher turned around in his chair to look back as Anya. He had a little glint in his eye. "So Knight of Ren, shall I go back to calling you Countess or will we play with a new title? Perhaps 'Your Radience'?"

"Shut your trap before I turn you into a pile of bolts, CY-4" She flicked him an angry glare and forced his seat to turn back to the cockpit window.

"Ohhh, she is a grumpy one when she calls me by my designation" The droid pressed a few buttons and the ship docked with its hyperdrive vortex that was in orbit around this hell of a planet. An old peice of technology, but handy when you wanted your ship to remain light, quick and almost silent when in a planets atmosphere. The stars ahead of them blasted forward into streaks of light. He turned around again, but this time without the cheeky bright eyes. "Seriously though, Anya. What are we going to do now that the war is over and the First Order cover can't give us protection any longer?"

"I... I don't actually know. I could finally return home, but I just don't want to deal with all of the beaurocracy and politics" She looked down at her hands. "My cousin is actually doing a better job at ruling a planet than I will ever be able to do. Plus, he actually likes it." She also thought it would be a bad idea to bring a now wanted criminal to her home planet. A planet that thrived on perfection and siding with the right people at the right time. Ben would never be safe there, not until he could hold his own.

"What will be the destination then... Anya?" He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppydog.

"Somewhere friendly... Somewhere that I can get a drink." She replied as she walked over toward the navigation map and sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "Let me think" She scrolled through the map with a finger pulling on her bottom lip deep in thought.

"Perhaps you would like to get snuggly and drunk with some cashed up casino goer on Canto Bight or maybe we could have a slippery time in the arms of a slug on Nal Hutta!" Cipher was back to his quick wit and overtly visceral humour.

A gut renching groan was heard from the cargo bay."Shut that fucking droid up! I can't deal with it's stupid voice right now."

Both habitants of the pilot seats swivled around in their chairs to look back at Ben. He was sprawled out against the wall with a hand to his head and the other bracing himself on the hard floor.

"What the fuck is this headache all about? Did you kick me in the face for something? And how did I even get here?" He looked around at his location for a moment, completely confused. "I thought..." His eyes opened fully. "IS REY OKAY?"

\- Author Note -

I hope you guys dont mind the 'flashback'/out-of-order series of events, they should calm down form the next chapter and onward. I just find that when inserting an OC into a story, we do need a little bit of background. Plus, I cant help but close some of the plot holes while im at it.

As for the Aussie droid, I wanted to bring a little bit of myself into the story. I hope you guys enjoy the bickering, snickering and inuendos that Anya and Cipher share throughout the story.

Please let me know what you think of this so far! Im happy to hear suggestions, requests and would love for constructive critisism. I know im not the best at writing and always want to improve!

Ps: There is a little refrence in this chapter to another Ben-Kylo/OC fanfic that im am absolutely devouring at the moment. You know who you are ;) Fantastic Story!


	3. Chapter 3 - Stasis

His body ached like it had been thrown through the Alderan asteroid belt and back again. He stretched his stiff shoulders and cracked the joints in his wrists.

That damned droid he hated so much was blabbering somewhere off to his right. Why he had ever let it live, he never knew. At least the damned thing was good with a blaster rifle and lazer sword, almost as good as himself, it must have been that old Separatist programming locked away in its datacores.

He let out a groan as he tried to lift himself from the ground. His arm buckled and he remained fixed on the cargobay floor. The droid continued running its mouth and just added to his splitting headache. "Shut that fucking droid up! I can't deal with it's stupid voice right now."

He opened his eyes and looked around at the cargobay. He wondered how he got here and why he was in so much pain. His head felt like it was ripping appart at the seams."What the fuck is this headache all about? Did you kick me in the face for something? And how did I even get here?" He looked around at his location for a moment, completely confused. He looked up at the cockpit, Anya was seated next to her obnoxious droid. He remembered her showing up on Endor after Rey had stolen his ship. He remembered his fight with the Knights of Ren, those betraying lunatics, having thrown his influence aside for that of a darker more powerful evil. He remembered the fight with Palpatine, that rat bastard.

"I thought..." He remembered holding Rey in his arms. He had brought her back to life... and the kiss.

His eyes opened fully. "IS REY OKAY?" He tried to get to his feet. The pain was intolerable. That battered and beaten body of his only allowed him to rise about half way before he collapsed back down onto his arse. "FUCK!" He coiled in pain but continued to try to get up.

Anya rushed over toward Ben and crouched down beside him. She pushed his shoulders down to hold him in place, she didn't want his writhing to cause even more damage to his weakened body. "Calm the fuck down ben!"

"IS REY OKAY?" He pushed up against her steady arms on his shoulders. But he was too weak to battle against her at the moment.

"Ben, calm your tits! Rey is completely fine. She escaped Exogol, just like we did." She looked into his eyes and saw the manic sheen escape and his pupils retun to their original size. His breathing returned to a slowed pace, then his face coiled in pain again.

Ben groaned and relaxed his head against the ship wall as Anya released her deathgrip on his shoulders.

"Where is Rey then? I need to see her!" He looked back into Anyas eyes with a desperate need etched on his face.

"Rey has returned to the Resistance base. She is back with the people who need her." Anya moved to sit aginst one of the amunition crates beside Ben.

"Then why don't we go find them?" He asked as if it were an order and not a request.

She shook her head and looked away, out to the window that was streaked with the trails of the thousand stars passing by in an instant. "You don't get it do you?"

"What is there to understand?"

Her head whipped back around to him. A tear falling from her silver eye. "You aren't safe, Ben. No matter what Rey tells the Resistance, you will always be untrusted." She looked down. "And I'm certain a particular pilot wants your head on his wall. If you walk in there like this you will be serving it to him on a silver platter." Anya's head turned to face him once more. "You will see her again, but first you need to regain your strength before I let you step a foot into unknown territory!"

"NO! I need to see her!" He grabed Anya's hand. Ben's face was full of sad desperate need. A longing she hadn't experienced since Ben turned to the dark side. "I... I love her." She had pinned after him in the past, the same way. Blockaded by their diffrences. But, she had come to terms with those feelings a long time ago. Kylo Ren had only been her master out of the fear she felt under Snokes rule and she could not feel for the monster Snoke had turned Ben into. But now he was diffrent, she could see small slivers of the Ben she remembered returning to the man in front of her.

_Is this jealousy I feel? Better not be, lets push that feeling deep down and away from here_.

Anya looked back into his deep brown, almost black, eyes. She saw the friend she remembered all those years ago. She saw the person that had saved her life, even when the he was pulled to the dark. Their friendship had held strong through the uprising of the First Order. She knew that even though Kylo had been in the drivers seat all that time, Ben was still in there, telling him to keep his first true friend alive during it all. He knew she would be on his side when he needed it most. The only time she had actually abandoned him, was when he no longer needed the protection. The day Snoke was killed, the same day Anya didn't fear for her life. That was almost a year ago.

She moved her other hand and placed it on top of his. "Ben, try to reach out to her through the force. Its the safest way to talk to her for now."

"Okay" he looked down at their intertwined hands. "But, where are we going?"

Anya pulled her hands away quickly and stood up. The break of contact was a quick shock to Ben. His resolve returned in a instant. He hadn't opened up to Anya like that since the day before they left the academy. Luke had yelled at him that same day, for failing a test of compassion and locking in his mind the evil that had corrupted his student.

As Anya stood up she barked an order toward Cipher. "Re-route to Corellia! Its time to visit an old friend."

* * *

"I don't really care what colour you paint it, I just want that First Order emblem gone by the time we are back." Ben could hear the muffled voice of Anya discussing payment with the port manager outside of the ship. "Here, I hope this covers the job and parking."

"Sir, you will need to wear this" Cipher was crouched beside Ben with a dark brown leather cloak in his hand. "We don't know who we can trust in the open."

Ben shifted the cloak over his shoulders and lifted its hood over his head. It obscured his face behind darkness. The droid offered him a steel plated arm from under it's own black cloak. He gripped the metal appendage and was lifted up onto his feet. Still unsteady, he gripped tightly onto the droid for stability.

Anya met her two travel partners at the cargobay door and took the weight of Ben from Cipher as he exited down the extended ramp.

They were here to meet someone, Anya had told him on their decent into planets atmosphere, they were a bacta manufacturer. Not the bacta itself, but the administration methods such as electronic syringes and upgrades for medical droids. She thought it would be the perfect place to lay low and also heal Ben quickly.

He was actually envious of Anya's connections outside of the First Order, he didn't realise how much he actually relied on them for all of the basics. He didnt know anyone outside of the Order except for those who were on the other side of the battlefield.

The trio had eventually made their way through the dense city of Coronet at the fastest pace Ben could limp, which was evidently still slower than most people could walk. The city was like nothing he had seen before, while not in blood drenched combat. He was able to look around and really soak in his surroundings. The streets were lined with glowing signs and swarmed with bipedal humans, aliens and droids.

A mouse droid zoomed past his feet and weaved its way up the road between the feet of other padestrians. It was covered in a green and pink vinyl wrap. At least it was nice to see the Empire and First Order's resources were already being integrated and recycled into civilian life.

He looked up at the towering dark buildings that rose far above his vision and beyond into the dense smog clouds above. He imagined that this city was what the entire planet of Coruscant would be like, if he were ever to enter that crime riddled system.

The group eventually turned off of the main street and down into an alleyway covered in light up signs all advertising technology; Refurb-a-droid, Electrospire and Surge.i0 Datastorage. The latter sign was the one the group followed and entered an unmanned storefront. Instead of a biological teller a small R2 unit stood by the service desk.

"Hey R2-0K, is Sergio in?" Anya asked the small yellow and black astrodroid.

He beeped and cherped in responce, dancing around on the spot. A loud rapid thumping was heard behind the wall, it got louder and louder. Then the door at the back of the store flung open and a huge creature bounded on all fours toward Anya toppeling her over and wraping its arms around her body.

Ben flinched and his body stiffened, he was leaning on Cipher at the time and waited in those moments for the droid to let him fall to the floor to protect its master. But nothing happened. CY-4 remained still as this monster mauled Anya.

"I havn't seen you in so long Anya!" The creature lifted its head from its insistant nuzzling and then lifted itself onto two legs, pulling the silver haired woman up with him.

This creature looked like a huge otter with sleek brown fur and standing almost 2 meters tall. If Ben remembered correctly this species was a Selonian. Sergio was dressed in a red cloak and a thick belt was hanging on his long slender waist with a huge array of mechanics tools dangling around his short legs.

The alien leaned down to the ground where he had tackled Anya and picked up a souldering iron that had fallen free from his utility belt. He clicked the tool back into place and waddled over towards the door at the back of his store. He spoke again in his bright chipper voice. "Come on then! Up to the workshop with the lot of you"

He ran back up the stairs on all fours. If Ben thought about it, Sergio probably couldn't get up the stairs upright with those short little legs.

The party followed the Selonian up to his workspace. Ben, using CY-4 as a crux to make his way up each step. The entire way up the semi-lit, light flickering, staircase were posters littering the walls. Each one showing busty women of all species drawn in a cartoon style amongst others of masked heros and villians in dynamic poses showing off their rippled muscles.

By the time he made it to the top of this art covered stairway, Anya was already sat at a table, deep in conversation with the Selonian. Sergio had his hand in a fist below his chin, looking very engaged in every word Anya had to say. Ben felt a sharp pang in his chest at the scene. He pushed the feeling of animosity toward the otter away.

As he approached the table he noticed there was a little steaming pot of something and a porcelain cup set out for him next to Anya. Across from his own cup was a tall thin glass of a golden syrup-like liquid. Cipher lowered Ben into his seat and then sat infront of the tall glass. The droid quickly poured the viscous liquid into its administor panel, which happen to be the same place where a mouth would be on a biological human. The LED eyes of CY-4 flashed with an enjoyment that no other IG-100 droid could show. Ben had never actually seen a droid drink before, but this one seemed to thoroughly enjoy WD-40.

Ben placed his aching hands around the warm little glass in front of him. Now that he was still again, he realised just how sore and stiff his body really was. He lifted the steaming liquid to his lips. It was comforting and sweet, but not overpowering in any way. It was some kind of sweet leaf tea. His entire body began to relax from the tension he had been holding for what seemed like at least a decade.

"Anya has been telling me that you need bacta." The huge otter creature was looking directly at Ben. He had a comforting face, always lit up with a happiness Ben could never muster himself. The alien smiled to reveal a pair of sharp little fangs. "Good news for you, I have an abundance..." He leaned in closer and spoke in a hushed voice. "Now that the First Order is gone, I have an entire storage room full of the stuff, pre-paid, with no one to pick it up. I've basically just hit the jackpot for resale value."

It looked like lots of people today were benefiting from the fall of the First Order.

Sergio rose from the too-small-for-his-huge-self chair and wandered off through another doorway. Through this now open door Ben could see huge towering mechanical boxes, covered in blinking lights and interconnected with eachother through a meticulous series of cables and wires.

Anya noticed Ben's fixed attention to this room. "Sergio runs a data storage centre here. When he isn't fixing up droids and creating electrical medical supplies, he maintains those server rooms." She gave his back a little rub while she talked, which evidently made him feel much less tense. "I actually made a bit of money working for Sergio for a while. He is always on the search for data libraries to intergrate into his own. Though I spent most of that money for access to some of his more... classified libraries. Which I want to talk to you about later."

The huge otter re-entered the room with a cylindrical silver case in his hand and a bottle and cloth in the other. "I noticed a little rusting on Cipher so I also brought some polishing oil. Here Anya, you help out your friend and I will fix up the droid." He passed the case to Anya before sitting back down to start working on CY-4.

Anya unhinged the top of the silver tube to reveal a spiral of bright blue glowing tubes surrounded by a low density foam. She delicately removed one of the blue tubes. On the end was a white plastic cap.

"This might hurt a bit, just a little prick is all" She soothed.

"Ive had a bacta shot before. Its fine." He pulled up his sleeve to the shoulder and readied for the jab.

It was quick and much less painful than he remembered the last time being. A small drop of blood exited the pin sized hole before it closed up and healed instantly. He could feel the cool wave pass through his blood stream. Firstly down his arm and into his finger tips, then back up and into his chest, it spread down his core, up to his head and into the rest of his body in an instant. The pain, bruises and broken ribs all eased. One side effect of this treatment was a slight light headedness, but only for a moment. Once the cooling ceased he regained the ability to diferentiate up from down.

His body felt renewed. Ben looked back over at the silver haired woman. "Thanks for that!" He then remembered she had been talking about something important before the otter had returned. "What was it that you wanted to tell me about?"

She looked over at Sergio and smiled. "Excuse us for a moment, buisness calls."

"Sure hun, set up in the back rooms. You will have to stay the night, patrols have been pretty intense the past few weeks" Sergio flicked the pair a dire look and then continued buffing out the armour plates on Cipher.

"Sure thing! Thanks!"

Once the two force users were in the back rooms, Anya sat down on the sofa and Ben joined in beside her.

"What you did back on Exogol. It's... it's something I read about in the files of the fallen republic..." she grabed his hands and looked into his eyes with her own silver orbs. "What you did to save Rey has only been done by one other known force user." Her eyes became dark. "It was recorded as one of the most evil force powers, to bring someone back from the dead. Darth Plagueis was able to bring those he loved back from the dead."

She was silent for a moment. Just looking into his eyes with all seriousness.

"Are you truely evil, Ben?" Her lip trembled.

"I... I dont know anymore. I don't know what to believe in anymore. The light and dark have both pushed me away and I am now floating in between the two." His head fell into his hands as he covered his tear filled eyes. "I don't belong in the light because I can never overcome my emotions and I don't belong in the dark because I can't turn my back on the people I care about" His body started to shake.

Anya reached out to place a hand on his back but Ben instantly drew away. "Ben..."

"How long have you had access to this information?" His eyes were dark and red with tears.

"Um... Three years."

"Why did you keep this from me and the Order? It could have helped us win!" He had started yelling.

"Because if I gave you the republic files, you would have used it to kill innocent people. It would have corrupted you beyond repair!" She was also yelling back at him now.

"Why did I ever trust you to be one of my Knights. You betrayed me more than once!"

"I was not betraying you! I was trying to keep you from making the worst mistake of your life. I was trying to stop you from becoming a Sith!"

"So you undermined me!"

"No, Ben. I was stopping Snoke from manipulating you. You don't belong on the dark side or the light!"

His eyes widened as if he had been shot. Pure pain hit his features. His eyes clouded up. "We're done here" Ben took a hollow breath before his face became stoic once more and he left the room. A door further down the hall slammed, it was to the room he would be staying in for the night.

"You belong somewhere in the middle, along with me... and Rey" She spoke these last words in a whisper and then left the room to return to Cipher and Sergio.

"So, is this the Ben you've been talking about for all of these years?" Sergio asked with a raised eyebrow as she entered the workshop once again. "Sounds exactly like you described him... hot tempered"

"He's changing again, like the first time but in reverse. I just don't know how to help him at the moment. He is struggling to come to terms with these changes." She sat heavily down across from the other lifeform and droid. Her hands reached out instinctively to the warm kettle of tea and poured herself another.

"Maybe you should just dump him on some deserted planet and leave like we talked about last time." Of course Cipher had to insert his two cents. Though Anya was on the verge of accepting the proposal.

"You have supported him, and he has helped you for the better part of both of your lives. I don't think Ciphers point should come into concideration." Sergio wrapped his little paws around Anya's hands, the cup of tea in the middle of this hand sandwich. "When friends need the help, we have to be there for them. Just like we are here for you now."

"I still don't know how to help him." She replied as her shoulders deflated further.

"Time." He tilted her chin back up to look into his pitch black rodent eyes. "I don't think you can do anything to help him. Change is something that happens over time and he will be the one that has to deal with that change of identity." Sergio had always been the wisest of all her associates... He was definately close enough to also call a friend. "He will come around soon enough, trust me" The Selonian smiled again to reveal his sharp chompers.

Ciphers eyes lit up with that mischevious gleam he is known for. "Okay so hear me out, how about we lure him onto the ship, fly up really high and then throw him out the cargobay door?"

The room erupted into laughter including the boisterous robotic chuckle of CY-4.

\- Author Note -

Thanks for reading the third chapter of this growing story. I really hope the characters are resonating with you guys.

Just a little holla to the furries out there, I hope you guys enjoy the characterisation of Sergio. Furries get the raw end of the stick sometimes, but most are genuinely wise and caring people. So, I wanted Sergio to be that genuine friend that people really need.

Im not sure if my story progression is a little too fast paced, but I didnt want to stretch the introduction over too many chapters.


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